Erste Geschichte Von Dem Vollmond
by The Tambourine Man
Summary: For Team RNJR, A stop in a small town turns into one of the most horrifying nights of their lives.
1. Kapitel Eins

It was a cold winter's day. The forest, bare of leaves, still looked lovely in the newly fallen snow. The day was past noon. So far into the wilderness, there was little sound to be heard, save for the steady sound of four people walking.

"Okay, so, where to next?" Ruby Rose asked. She was a petite girl coming into her late teens. Her shoulder-length dark hair faded into red at the tips. Even her teammates were unsure if it was dyed or not. Her large eyes were a shade too light to be called grey. She wore her usual outfit: a black minidress with red trim and black tights.

"The next stop on our grand tour of Sanas is… Haewencroft." Jaune said. He was the largest of the group, tall and lean. His blond hair was short and messy. He wore a black hoodie and blue jeans, with plates of armor over his chest and arms.

Ruby came to an abrupt stop. Jaune, Nora, and Ren followed suit. The forest became unnervingly quiet

"What's up? Did you hear something?" Jaune asked, quickly stuffing the map back into his pocket.

"What the heck kind of name is that?"

"Huh?"

"What? You don't think that name is weird?"

"A very old name, actually. " Ren chimed in. "Haewencroft is known to have existed since the end of the Great War- and may be older than that." Ren stood taller than the girls on his team, but still notably shorter than Jaune. His waist-length black hair and delicate features gave him a somewhat effeminate look. He wore a long green tunic, loose off-white pants and elbow-length, fingerless gloves.

"W-w-well that's great, but could we p-please get moving again?" Nora asked, fidgeting in an effort to keep warm. The sound of four pairs of shoes crunching through the snow started once again.

"So, Ren, what else do you know about… Hewecraft?"

"Still Haewencroft."

"That's about it, really. Now, if you were to ask me the towns of Anima…"

Ren trailed off as the three of them rounded a corner and came within sight of the town. It was not a large town, consisting of only a few intersecting streets. The buildings were low stone structures, packed together side-by–side, with steep tile roofs. There was a single, square-shaped building in the middle of town that rose up more than three stories.

Ruby took off running for the village. It took Jaune a moment to process, before he started after her, at full speed. There was a part of his brain that tried to remind him that he should conserve his energy. The larger part of his brain reminded him that there was something far more important at stake; actually beating Ruby for once. Jaune had, by his own estimate, well over a foot of height on Ruby and consequently a much longer stride. He should, with some practice, be able to outrun her. Her natural running speed, anyway. It would be difficult to outrun her with her semblance.

This was not his day, however. Ruby had made it into the village far ahead of him. She turned and watched him run with a smile that tried very hard to look innocent. Jaune pulled up to her, breathing a bit more heavily than he would like to.

"I win." She said happily.

"Who said we were racing?"

"I still win."

Jaune shook his head. In spite of himself, he was smiling. He took a glance backwards to see when the rest of their team would be catching up. Ren and Nora were still outside of the town. Ren was tensed, his eyes closed in concentration. Nora had her hammer at the ready. Ren held his position for a moment before loosening up. His faced looked puzzled. He made his way into the town, slowly and carefully, with Nora following behind.

Ruby had already turned and started scanning the area. She knew as well as the rest of her team that Ren had a knack for knowing when trouble was near.

"What was that?" Jaune asked.

"I thought there was something here, but… it must have left. "

"So, there's Grimm around here?"

"That's the other thing. I don't think it was a Grimm. It seemed different."

"Maybe it was another person?" Ruby interjected.

"I'm not sure. I couldn't get a good feel for what it was."

Jaune gulped. The wilds of Remnant were dangerous enough when dealing with a known threat. Now there was some mystery thing lurking around as well?

"Uh, hey, guys? Do you notice something weird about the people in this town?" Nora asked.

"I don't think so. What do you mean?"

"Like how there aren't any of them."

Jaune stopped. There hadn't been anyone in the streets. Not a soul in the windows. No one coming out to meet the newcomers. And, now that he focused on it, the town was actually quieter than the forest had been.

"We're leaving, _now_." Ren said, his voice uncharacteristically sharp.

Ruby shook her head. "We can't go yet. We don't know what's happening here. Someone might need help."

"There's no one. We need to go." Ren fired back. Nora turned to Jaune, a pleading look on her face. Both Ruby and Ren followed, clearly expecting Jaune to cast the deciding vote.

 **SCENE**

Jaune sighed as he closed the door. He still had the strength to stand up straight. Nonetheless, he stayed slumped against the wall, head down and eyes closed. A moment later, a strong gust of wind, carrying the smell of roses, burst through the hallway.

"Ruby." He said without looking up. "I'm guessing there wasn't anything in the basement?"

"Nothing we hadn't seen in every other house."

Jaune shook his head. Everywhere, it was the same story. Food in cupboards, still fresh to eat. Clothing still in dressers. They'd even found embers in a fireplace that were still warm. But there wasn't a soul to be found anywhere.

"Nothing up here, then?"

"Couldn't find a thing"

"Drat." She thought for a moment. "So, what happened? It looks like everyone just got up and left, but they didn't take anything with them that they'd need."

"That's how it looks"

Silence fell. This was the twelfth house the two of them had searched. What had started as a faint feeling of unease when they'd arrived had grown into a sense of crushing dread. He could now say that he understood Ren's unease.

"I did find one thing, though."

Jaune perked up, looking at Ruby for the first time in their conversation. She was holding out an open jar, full of something dark and red. Jaune took it and gave it a light whiff. The smell was sweet and heavy. He smelled it again, deeper, savoring the inviting aroma.

"Strawberry preserves?"

Ruby nodded and offered him a spoon. From the spots on it, it looked like Ruby had been using it herself.

"I haven't had any of these in a while. I didn't want to just leave it and let it…" she trailed off.

"These aren't ours…" Jaune said weakly.

"I left some Lien for them, in case they ever come back." Ruby replied, her voice devoid of actual hope in that regard.

Jaune took the spoon. "Come on, let's go find the others."

 **SCENE**

As soon as they stepped outside, they could tell that the weather was changing. The temperature, already cold, felt as though it had dropped at least ten degrees. The sky along the west was a dark grey, with a wall of darkness falling to the ground. Their teammates emerged from a house on the other side of the road a moment later.

"Nothing?" Jaune asked.

Ren simply shook his head. "We should go."

"We can't." Jaune said. "We've got a blizzard coming in, and it's almost dark. One of these building would probably be better than a tent."

"There's something wrong here, and we don't even know _what!_ Do you really think it's going to be safe here?"

"Isn't it?" Ruby asked. "We know this place is empty. There aren't any people or Grimm here to attack."

Nora gently put her hand on Ren's shoulder. "Ren, let's just enjoy having a bed tonight." Jaune couldn't help but be surprised by how calm and gentle her voice was.

Ren deflated. "Alright then."

 **SCENE**

Jaune awoke with a start. There had been a noise from… somewhere. Something that sounded like a loud bang. He threw his blankets off and went to the window. The building they were staying in- the Watchtower Inn, the sign had said- was the tallest building in town. Jaune's room faced the street, giving him a view of the whole town.

It was still dark, with no sign of dawn on the horizon. The blizzard was gone. It had left behind perhaps a foot of additional snow. The sky was clear. Jaune could see not only countless stars, but could make out the shape of the galaxy. The moon was big and bright, its damaged portion currently turned away from Remnant entirely.

Jaune smiled a little. It was a lovely scene. It was also one that didn't seem to have any enemies. The snow was undisturbed. Jaune lingered for a minute. He couldn't hear Ren, Nora, or Ruby stirring from their rooms.

It was likely nothing. The sound had been nothing, just another bit of nonsense inhabiting the liminal zone between sleeping and waking.

He grabbed his sword and put his armor on. He was never one to get back to sleep easily. He could take a quick walk outside, take in the sights, do some training, and hopefully get back in bed.

He stepped out of the inn a moment later. His first steps onto the snow were hesitating. It didn't feel quite right to mar the beautiful white fluff. He could try staying under the eaves of the houses, where there was a snowless path just wide enough to walk on, but something about the snow called to him. His pace picked up as he started to enjoy the satisfying crunch.

He was walking through the intersection at the center of town when he saw it. It was a small shifting around, at the corner of his eye. He drew his sword and shield as he turned slowly.

The thing he saw was down by one of the houses at the end of the street. It was very dark, and it took Jaune a moment to realize that it wasn't a Grimm. It didn't have the white plates or red marks, and Jaune could see from its outline that it had fur. It raised its head and looked towards Jaune. He could make out its triangular ears and pale eyes. Its lips curled back, revealing its sharp fangs as it began issuing a deep growl.

It was a wolf. One that was about as tall at the shoulders as Jaune was.

 **Author's Note: So, here's me doing something new. A longer story, planned out completely from the start. And a new genre, while I'm at it. What do you think?**


	2. Kapitel Zwei

" _This"_ Jaune thought to himself, " _is probably why everyone left the village._ " He mentally went through the instructions on what to do around wolves; Head down, don't make eye contact, back away without running. If it was just a wild animal, it probably wouldn't be much more dangerous than a Grimm. He might even be able to avoid fighting it altogether.

That hope lasted for all of several steps. The wolf quickly bored of simply growling at him and charged. It closed the street in a matter of seconds. The snow sprayed out around it, barely slowing it down. Jaune flung himself to the side the instant before it collided with him.

Jaune went over his options in his head. The wolf was much faster than him, and not as bothered by the snow. He could get under the eaves, where there was no snow. He could move quicker, but he wouldn't have as much space to maneuver. He could get in one of the buildings and try locking or barricading it. If it got in, he might be trapped by himself. The best bet would be to get back to the inn. The street wasn't very long. Running, it couldn't take more than a minute or two.

At this moment, it felt entirely too far away.

The wolf had recovered from its overshoot and was turning to face Jaune again. Jaune faced the wolf and began walking backwards towards the inn. It wasn't stopping the wolf from pursuing him, but turning his back on an opponent couldn't end well.

The wolf charged again. Jaune tried throwing himself to one side again, but the wolf had already caught on. It swung one paw out as it lunged at him, connecting with his gut. The force was great enough to launch Jaune into the air. He crashed down into the snow some distance away. He barely had time to take another breath before the wolf was bearing down on him with its jaws. Jaune thrust his shield upward, wedging it into the wolf's maw.

It seems he caught the wolf by surprise. There was an instant where the wolf made no movement, just several grunts that sounded almost confused. Then it began wrenching at the shield. Jaune, fearing that the wolf may have the strength to take his shield- and his arm along with it, jabbed his sword up into the wolf's underbelly. The tip barely pierced into its hide, but it was enough to get it to stop. The wolf forgot its rage for a moment and howled in pain. Jaune quickly scrambled out from under it.

Jaune circled around to the side of the wolf and made several more thrusts at the wolf's side, punctuating it with a cry of "Leave! Me! Alone!" The wolf recovered enough to start after him again. Jaune started circling around, hoping he could lead the wolf into chasing its tail. It did work, for a moment. He managed to lead in about one revelation before the wolf opted to simply hurl its massive body sideways, right into Jaune.

Jaune found himself tumbling through the air again. He landed mercifully close to the inn, at least, but the wolf closed in before he could get up. It didn't loom over him the way it had before. Instead, it brought down its front paw onto him. Jaune barely rolled out of the way. Before he could even try getting to his feet, it swung down again. Jaune caught it on his shield this time. Jaune was thankful he didn't take the hit on hard ground, since it drove him deep into the snow.

It didn't withdraw its paw. Jaune's shield was lying flush with his chest, and the wolf was only going to put more weight on him. Hoping the target would be sensitive, Jaune drove his sword between the wolf's toes. He repeated the motion again, and again until the wolf pulled away. Jaune shoveled his sword into the snow, and flung it into the wolf's face.

Jaune rolled to his feet and threw himself through the door, into the inn. He tried to shut it after, but he wasn't quite f fast enough to keep the wolf from getting its head through the door. It snapped around blindly, and seemed to be getting even louder. Jaune brought his sword down again, this time coming down between the wolf's shoulders. The wolf retreated back out, and Jaune slammed the door shut. He locked the door and dropped the bar over it.

The door shook. The wolf's growls continued, only muffled slightly by the thick oak door. Jaune panted heavily, trying to catch his breath. That was when all the getting thrown around caught up to him. Jaune found himself doubled over, heaving onto the ground. _"Behold the great Jaune Arc, flee-er of monsters and ruiner of cheap rugs."_

He wiped his chin off ruefully. Jaune was the least experienced member of his team, a less capable fighter lacking the speed or power his teammates could bring to bear. That didn't mean he was a bad fighter, at least not anymore. He could take weaker Grimm with no problem. This was far tougher than any of those. He had landed a number of hits, but none of them had actually been very deep. He'd never thought of how hard it could be to attack something through a thick layer of fur. What was worse was that the wolf seemed intelligent, at least enough to keep adjusting its approach. It could be worse, at least. It didn't have a pack, since his whole team might be hard pressed to fight a number of the things. And it didn't seem to have any unpleasant tricks up its sleeve.

He glanced back at the door. The wolf had stopped trying to break through. It had stopped growling. He might think it had left altogether, if he didn't hear the sound of something breathing, faintly, on the other side of the door. Jaune wanted to think that it had simply gone to sleep, that he would get a respite to plan things out with his team.

Then the door exploded. The frigid wind slammed into Jaune, throwing him into the wall, hard enough to make an indentation. Shards of the door buried themselves in the wall. The furniture smashed into the wall around him. The sound was deafening, as though he were in the middle of a tornado. But there was another aspect threaded through it that he managed to pick out.

A wolf's howl.

The storm ended. Jaune barely landed on his feet. He looked on as the wolf came through the hole it had made in the wall.


	3. Kapitel Drei

Nora took a moment to reflect on the fact that there is a difference between being "awake" and being "up". "Awake" was simply not being asleep. "Up" was the point where you had either had your fill of sleep, or simply given up trying to pursue it. The latter was a choice. The former was something that was simply foisted upon you at some point. Some cacophony had woken her, at least partially, but she was in no great hurry to get out of bed.

"Stupid train. Go away."

Her ruminating was cut short, however, when a scream tore through the inn. "Guys! Help!" It forced Nora's still-half-asleep brain to remember that she was in the middle of nowhere. There were no trains out here.

She was out the door and armed in about three seconds. Adrenaline had driven out what remained of her sleepiness. "What is it?" She asked, trying to get some information on the situation.

Their rooms were on the second floor. There was a narrow hallway running through the center, almost dark except for the moonlight pouring through with stairs going up to Nora's right and stairs going down to her left. Jaune was standing at the top of those stairs, looking down in terror.

"Wolf!"

"Wolf? Just one? Jaune, can't you take care of that yourself?

"Not a Beowolf, a-" Jaune was cut off as a ton of lupine anger launched itself up the stairs. Jaune retreated with greater speed than Nora thought possible. Nora fell into position next to her teammate.

"What's the plan?"

"It doesn't have any Aura, so… hit it. Really hard."

Nora smirked. This was a plan she could really get behind. She charged at the wolf, head-on. The wolf charged at her, snarling all the while. Nora timed it carefully, and as soon as the wolf was in range, she brought her hammer down on its head.

The wolf did stop charging, at least. But it seemed to be more out of confusion than pain. Its head had barely budged from the blow. She brought it down again, to no effect.

The wolf swung out with its front paw, pinning Nora against the wall. Before the wolf could turn its jaws on her, shots rang out. Jaune, focused on the wolf, didn't need to turn to face the shooter. He knew the report from Ren's guns well enough.

The wolf quickly lost interest in Nora, and started toward Ren and Jaune.

"You said it didn't have an aura!" Nora yelled.

"I-it didn't! I hurt it before!" Jaune yelled back. He found himself taking another look at the blade of sword, just to double-check that the wolf's blood was really there. The blade was a beautiful silvery color in the moonlight. The dark stain seemed wrong, somehow.

Ren didn't bother trying to slip past Jaune in the narrow hallway. Instead, he took a running startup the wall and tried to approach the wolf that way. He leapt at the wolf, aiming to land on its back.

He landed facing backwards. He hoped to get a chance to shoot or stab the monster. Instead, he found himself having to grab handfuls of fur and hang on tightly. The wolf was thrashing about, trying to dislodge him.

Jaune saw his opportunity. "Now!" he shouted. He made his move towards the wolf, brandishing his sword. He swung at it, cutting into its shoulder. The wolf leveled out and began snapping at Jaune. It was thrown off, however, when Nora went on the attack once again. Her hammer struck at the back of the knee of one of the wolf's hind legs, knocking it off balance.

The wolf turned, readying to strike at Nora. Jaune followed Nora's lead, and sank his sword into the wolf's thigh. The wolf turned again, hoping to attack Jaune.

It had forgotten about Ren. He had now had enough time to get himself turned around. He brought his knife down, aiming for the wolf's eye. It made contact, but the only effect seemed to be fanning the wolf's ever-growing rage. This time, the wolf retaliated by rolling over, putting its considerable weight on Ren. He let go, laying on the floor. Before the wolf could go after Ren, Nora brought her hammer down on the wolf's backside, punctuating with yelling a number of very rude things about the wolf and its family.

Having gotten the wolf's attention, Nora led it down the hall. Jaune raced to his friend's side. "Ren!"

"I'm alright." Ren said, standing back and looking none the worse for the wear. They saw the wolf closing in on Nora.

Ren ran across the wall again, using it to launch himself at the wolf. He didn't heed Jaune's hasty warnings.

He almost made it.

The wolf spun and aimed its teeth at Ren. Ren twisted in midair, trying to protect himself. The wolf caught his leg in its jaws. Jaune watched with a sinking feeling as the wolf began to shake its head, slamming Ren into the wall. Ren's composure failed altogether, and began screaming. A brief flash of pink told Jaune that Ren's aura hadn't held up for long.

The wolf snapped its head up, tossing Ren into the ceiling. Ren, barely able to move, fell back towards the wolf's waiting jaws.

A loud sound rang through the hall. Nora soared over the wolf's head, catching Ren and carrying him towards Jaune and relative safety. Jaune watched as the grenade Nora fired to launch herself impacted with the staircase. The wooden staircase crumbled in the blast, leaving nothing but a drop-off between them and the ground floor.

"What do we do?" Nora asked. Ren was hurt. His leg was bleeding, and he was barely moving.

The wolf wasn't moving. It was simply staring in their direction, its eyes looking full of hatred. It took Jaune a moment to realize that the wolf's sides were rising, as though it were taking a very deep breath.

Jaune shoved open the nearest door to him. "Get in there! NOW!" Nora dragged Ren in. Jaune followed them inside and slammed the door shut. A second later, he heard that terrible howl coming from the hall. It died down after a minute, replaced with a heavy, labored panting. In that brief moment of time, Jaune's mind finally caught up to one of the problems with the whole scenario.

"Where's Ruby?" This was her room they had ducked into. Her bag was still in the corner. But her bed was empty, and Crescent Rose was nowhere to be found.

Nora, still carrying Ren, bit her lip nervously. "I… think I know were Ruby is."

"Where?"

"Out there. In the hall."

"What? With the wolf?"

"Not _with_ , Jaune."

"Nora, that's- I- really- y-you can't really mean that, can you?"

"Creepy village, Ruby goes missing, big black-and-slightly-red wolf shows up. Do you have any better explanations?"

"That's- we don't have time right now." They could hear the wolf's breathing was returning to normal.

"Okay, so what do we do?"

"We can't stay here. That door isn't going to stop it."

"We could jump out the window. It's only the second story."

"Do you think Ren could make it right now?" Nora shook her head. "We need to get away from… _the wolf_ … and get Ren patched up. And- I think I know how to do that."

A moment later, Jaune came out the door, sword and shield at the ready. He stared down _the wolf_ , standing between it and the stairs leading to the third floor. "Hey, Ugly!" This was not the best plan Jaune had ever had, but he was behind the eight ball at the moment.

"Yeah! You!" Jaune punctuated it by hitting his shield with his sword. Nora was slinking off behind him, carrying Ren up the stairs behind him. He just had to keep _the wolf_ busy. It didn't charge this time. It approached Jaune, slowly and cautiously. It was learning, but it was easier to deal with, at least.

Jaune backed up the stairs, hoping that he wouldn't bump into Nora and Ren on the way. The third floor was exactly like the previous one: a long, narrow hallway opening to four rooms, with a final staircase leading onto the roof. With no windows, open doors or lit candles, it was pitch black. Jaune couldn't see more than a foot in front of him.

"Are you guys there?" Jaune asked, in the peculiar combination of a whisper and a yell.

"Yes." Nora answered.

"Good. Now-" Jaune was caught off-guard by a deep, sharp noise. The wolf had already followed him up the stairs. Now it was standing directly behind him. Only one thing to do, then.

"Run!" he screamed. He spun on his heel, stabbing downward with his sword, hoping the wolf couldn't move a quickly with an injured paw. It must have connected, since she let out a high, pained whine. For once, the wolf didn't sound angry, simply pitiful. Maybe he didn't need to run anymore. Maybe he could just take his sword and finish her off-

Jaune broke into a run. The wolf tried to follow, but it didn't make nearly as good time. Jaune got up the stairs well before she reached them.

He broke through the door onto the roof. Nora had already set Ren down in a little patch she had cleared of snow. Jaune didn't need to say anything when he got there. Nora grabbed her weapon and fired a grenade into the stairs, destroying them. Jaune let out a sigh of relief. Nora opened the first aid kit she had taken from Ruby's room. "Remember, you need to keep your leg up." She said as she prepared the antiseptic.

Then it burst through the doorway. A massive, shifting mass of black tinged with red. It through out a gust carrying a strong scent: the rank stench of decay with a faint hint of rose. The cloud dispersed, and the wolf stood there on the roof with them. Her eyes glinted silver in the moonlight.

Jaune recoiled, as if he had been struck. Instead of the focused energy he typically felt in battle, he felt a consuming weariness. Even as one part of his brain screamed to ready his sword and shield, he could barely move his arms.

"Ruby… No…"

 **Author's Note: So, yeah. Werewolf story. You know how stories like this tend to make up their own rules for how the monsters work, and this one is no exception. What those rules actually** _ **are,**_ **is something that will be revealed gradually.**


	4. Kapitel Vier

"Uh, hey? Ruby? I know the whole 'turning into a giant wolf' is new to you… probably… but could you stop trying to kill us? Please?" Nora said, standing between the oncoming wolf and her injured friend.

"Ruby… You can't recognize us, can you?" Jaune asked, barely able to muster any strength. "Can you even remember who you are?" The wolf continued to limp towards them. "Stop. Please stop. Don't do this. Don't make us…" Jaune couldn't finish. He would give anything to never feel like he had after the fall of Beacon again. They couldn't run anywhere else with Ren injured. With… Ruby… injured as much as she was, Jaune might be able to-

His stomach heaved in protest. He never thought he would find something that sounded worse than what happened at their last night in Beacon. "Ruby, stop. Stop. Stop. Stop! Ruby Rose, Stop!"

The last time, oddly enough, seemed to get through to her. She stopped in her tracks, raised her head, and stared at them.

"So… the trick was yelling at her?"

Jaune watched the wolf carefully. She seemed to be studying them, her head tilted to one side and looking confused. "I don't think that's it." He took a step towards Ruby, hesitatingly. She didn't seem to react. "Do you recognize me Ruby? It's Jaune." The wolf sniffed at the air, but didn't take particular notice of him. "Rose?" Still nothing. "Ruby Rose?"

Her shoulders relaxed. For the first time since Jaune had seen the wolf, she didn't look like she was about to attack. "Ruby, if you can understand me, please give me some sign." This time, the wolf did respond; she turned and ran to the edge of the roof. Anther burst of her Semblance took her to the ground. Jaune watched, confused, as she ran to one of the houses at the far end of town and push through the, evidently unlocked, door.

"That… wasn't the kind of response I was hoping for." Jaune turned back towards his remaining teammates, and saw what he had missed earlier; the eastern sky was turning pink, with a thin but growing orange line just above the horizon. "The… sun?"

"Now what?" Nora asked.

"You stay with Ren. I'll go after her."

"Go after her? Jaune-"

"She still recognizes her name. Her full name, at least. She'll probably turn back in a little bit, when the sun comes up. After that…" He wasn't sure, exactly, what he would do when Ruby was back to normal. "I'll be alright. I just need to go get something from my room."

 **SCENE**

They hadn't searched all of the houses the previous day. The house Ruby had fled to was one of the ones they had missed. The other houses had looked untouched. This one had clear signs of damage; pictures knocked off the walls, tables and chairs overturned. There was an odd smell in the air, just a little too faint to make out. The door to the basement was open, but the basement was pitch-black. Jaune had to take a minute to find and light a candle before going down.

It was there that Jaune discovered what had happened to the people of Haewencroft.

This house had the largest basement of any house in the village. The walls were stone, smooth and well kept. The floor was carpeted, still soft despite its age. There were two rows of tables that had been set up, end-to-end. Wooden chairs were thrown about, with only a few still standing at a table. The tables were still covered in food which, given its smell and developing discoloration, had been out too long. Some flies had already started in on what was left of the feast, but there were things in the basement far more enticing for them.

Jaune had fought during the breach of Vale. He had helped clean up after the awful night that Beacon fell. He was not unfamiliar with seeing dead bodies. There was, buried deep down, a prideful part of him that thought that he was desensitized to the sight of death. He reflected, while dry-heaving, how wrong he was.

There was nothing that could prepare someone for the sight of a village worth of corpses. From the size of it, Jaune would guess there were between forty and fifty, but many had been torn apart so badly that he couldn't tell where one ended and another began. The face he could see were either drawn up in fear, or dried into ghastly rictuses. While there were more organs than he could

name, he could not see anything that looked like a liver. They had not been dead long enough to fully dry out.

And sitting amidst the death and destruction, the buzzing of flies and the rust-brown stains of dried blood, licking her wounds, was Ruby. No more human than the last time he had seen her.

It was a moment before she took any notice of Jaune. She pushed herself to her feet, slowly. She growled at him, putting herself between him and the pile of the dead.

"Ruby…" Jaune didn't move. Seconds stretched into minutes. Ruby's growls died out, but she stayed tense and ready to strike. Jaune waited. Just a little longer, Jaune told himself. Then the wolf would vanish, Jaune would have his friend back, and they could leave this whole nightmare behind them.

Jaune began to think through the horrible tableau before him. It was some small comfort to know that Ruby couldn't have been the perpetrator; the people were likely dead when they got to town. The Creatures of Grimm were a good possibility, but why leave so much behind? With no need for nutrients, there wouldn't be a point in saving food for later, or being selective with which parts were eaten first. Perhaps the cause was something else? There was too much about the world that he didn't know.

Jaune had no idea how long the standoff lasted. It may have been an hour or two. Possibly more. It didn't end with the wolf turning back into the heroine. There came a loud growling, but it came from She simply turned away from him, approaching the pile of corpses. Jaune's body filled with a painful, nervous energy. Even if Ruby wasn't herself at the moment, he could not, _must_ not, let her cross that line.

"Wait!" Jaune called. He fumbled for his pocket with his free hand and said a quick prayer that this plan would work. "Ruby Rose, get a load of this!" There was a soft thudding as the lid came off the jar. The smell of strawberry preserves began to spread through the room. It did little to alleviate the terrible stench, but it did manage to catch Ruby's attention. She forgot the carrion and started towards Jaune. Her wounds were no longer bleeding, but she was too hurt to move any faster than Jaune.

 _"Guess I'll get to win one race…"_ Jaune thought to himself as he made his way slowly up the stairs. He didn't dare to turn around; he had to make sure that Ruby kept following him. He moved the jar from side to side as he went, spreading the inviting aroma. The vicious monster suddenly looked more like an excited dog.

He breathed a sigh of relief once he had led Ruby out of the basement. The house was full of bright light from the morning sun. _"She… is going to turn back, isn't she?"_ Jaune could always figure out how to keep his head above water, but longer-term planning still gave him trouble. He decided that, for the moment, he should simply lead her back to the rest of their team.

He didn't quite make it to the door. He didn't realize the lamp was there until he brought his foot down and it rolled right out from under him. He fell on his butt, and Ruby caught him in an instant. He couldn't keep the jar away from her, and he wasn't sure what he could about her with it. The best he could come up with was to throw the jar towards the exit. It spun end-over-end, spilling its contents out in a line before landing in the rectangle of light made by the still-open door.

Ruby ignored him and went after the preserves, licking them up off the ground. Finally, she got to the jar itself. She reached out to it with one paw, but drew it back as soon as it touched the sunlight, letting out another agonized yelp. Jaune, having regained his feet, saw a puff of black smoke rising up from her paw.

The toes that had entered the sunlight had evaporated.

The pain broke the spell. Ruby lost interest in the jar, and turned to head back into the house. "Ruby! Are you okay?" She didn't respond. If she even understood, she gave no indication. She began growling at Jaune as soon as she saw him. "Ruby Rose." The wolf threw itself at him, despite its injuries. Jaune flattened himself against the wall just to get away from it. "Ruby Rose." The wolf turned and snapped at him. "Ruby Rose!" The wolf paid his words no heed. It limped and stumbled over the wreckage in the room, but it continued to attack him. Jaune was barely keeping away from it.

Jaune scrambled over a couch, kicking it over in the process. Was this it? Dying before he'd even started to see through his mission? Ruby shoved the couch back in Jaune's direction. Jaune leapt back, scanning the room. It had once been a nice living room; plush seating, well-made end tables, and very heavy drapes, currently closed.

"I'm sorry, Ruby." Jaune said. The curtains were on the other side of the room, and Ruby was between him and them. Jaune drew his sword, leaving the still-folded sheath in his other hand. He came out from behind the couch, giving Ruby a clear line to him. She threw herself at him, jaws open. Exactly what Jaune was hoping for. Holding the sheath perpendicular to the ground, he thrust it towards her open maw. It got stuck, leaving her mouth propped open.

Jaune released the sheath and ran. Ruby was too busy trying to remove the sheath to pursue him. The curtain was his target. He clutched his sword and slashed high. The curtain fell away, and sunlight flooded the room. The wolf didn't even have time to react. Jaune couldn't bear to even watch. He turned away, hearing the room suddenly go silent.

" _You should have let her go."_

 _"Ruby was already gone."_

 _"You didn't know that. Maybe she just needed more time-"_

 _"To do what? Gorge on corpses?"_

 _"They were already dead. She wasn't"_

 _"What if someone else found her? She might have killed them."_

 _"So, instead, you killed her."_

 _"She wouldn't have wanted to be like that. Just a monster."_

 _"That wasn't your call to make."_

 _"M-maybe that wasn't really her. Maybe-"_

 _"You killed her."_

 _"You killed her."_

 _"YOU KILLED HER."_

Any further thoughts were too primal to be expressed in words. Jaune collapsed, sobbing. The pain from the last night at Beacon came rushing back, mixing with the all-too similar pain he felt now. For all he worked, for all he hoped, for all he wanted to be strong, he still couldn't do it.

"Uh… hey? Jaune?" No way. That couldn't possibly be happening, could it? She should've-

 _"How much do you really know about this situation? Three hours ago, you would have said werewolves were a myth. Just open your eyes."_

Jaune looked up. There, in the sunlight, amidst the wreckage, was the familiar face of Ruby Rose. "Are you alright?" she said, concerned.

Jaune could think of few times in his life that he had felt better.

 **Author's Note: Next chapter is the denouement. I might write stuff that gets dark, but I don't want to write something that's hopeless. I'd actually like to write more comedy, but I can't seem to come up with many ideas at the moment.**


	5. Kapitel Fuenf

"R-ruby? Ruby!" Jaune got to his feet, hastily wiping away his tears. "You're okay?"

"Uhh… yeah. Looks that way. Why wouldn't I be?" She glanced at the wrecked room around them. Perhaps Jaune did have a reason to worry.

"So, um, has this ever… happened to you before?"

Ruby frowned. "Has what ever happened to me?"

"Don't you remember anything?" Jaune asked, his eyes still pointing at the ground.

"Well… Yeah, actually. I remember waking up early and wanting to go for a walk. It was just so pretty out. But partway through, things just… stopped making _sense._ "

"What do you mean?"

"Like, I couldn't tell what shape or color anything was. Or what direction anything was in, or what I was doing, or who I was… It was like my mind forgot how to think properly. I remember anger, but I kind of felt like… like I was feeling someone else's anger. And I was hungry. There was something around to eat, but I could never quite get to it."

"Except the strawberries."

"Of course! Nothing's better than strawberries."

"But there was something else that you also wanted to eat?" There was an edge to his question.

"Well, yeah, but… I don't know what it was. It's like a really bad dream I can barely remember."

"And this is the first time this has happened to you? Ever?"

"Yes." She struggled to find the right words. "What happened, Jaune?"

"…You're a werewolf."

Ruby stared at him. Jaune still wouldn't meet her eyes.

"I'm serious! A minute ago, there was a huge, angry wolf in here trying to eat me!"

Ruby looked around the room once more. She noticed Jaune's sheath on the ground. She picked it up and handed it to him- "Wait, what?"

Jaune took the sheath without looking at her. "What's wrong?"

"When did I get this scar on my hand?" Ruby stared at her left hand in shock. The scar was off-white with a jagged edge, and almost large enough to spread from one side of her hand to the other. There was an identical one to it on the other side, as though something had impaled her hand.

"…I did that. When I was fighting the wolf. I needed to slow it- you- down. I'm sorry."

"You're… serious. I… I… is everyone alright?"

"Ren got… a little banged up. But he'll be fine." Jaune wished he could fake enough confidence to make it sound convincing.

"I'm sorry." Her voiced was strained and close to tears. "I didn't know what was going on. Hurting you- any of you- It's the last thing I'd ever want."

Jaune didn't move. He didn't say anything. Didn't look at her. Ruby couldn't find any more words. All she ever wanted was to be a huntress. The heroine who protected the meek. And now?

She was the threat, the danger lurking in the dark.

"I'm not a… a monster. I'm not a monster. Whatever happened, I'm… I'm still me."

"… I believe you." Jaune said quietly. He still wouldn't look at her. Why? To offer reassurance without making eye contact, it almost felt like he was-

Ruby closed the gap between them. She took Jaune's head in her hands and tilted it up to face her. "It means a lot more when you look someone in the eye, Jaune."

"I believe you Ruby." Jaune was now making eye contact. He didn't seem to dare look anywhere. "You're still my friend. That hasn't changed. But… you do realize you're not wearing anything, right?"

 **SCENE**

 **"** Hehehe. Bunny."

"Well, I'm glad you can still laugh." Jaune meant that, in spite of his annoyance. "But please focus."

"Jaune, there isn't anything else to remember."

"You're sure?" He made a point of not looking away from Ruby, after how she had taken it before. It wasn't easy. His hoodie was the best thing that had at hand for Ruby to wear. It was more than large enough to cover everything that needed to be covered. It was so large on her, in fact, that it probably covered more of her legs than the skirts she typically wore. He could make a good case to himself that there was no reason to feel embarrassed.

And yet, seeing her in his jacket was somehow more awkward than when she was naked. He was thankful that neither Yang nor any of Ruby's other relatives were present at the moment.

"Dad never said anything about staying away from silver, or locking myself in the basement when the moon is full. I don't have any other missing or distorted memories. I've never been bitten by a wolf or dog. Heck, the moon was full the night before last, too, and I was just fine then."

"And your dad wasn't a werewolf or anything?"

"No."

"And your mother?"

"I don't think so."

"Are you sure?"

"No. She died when I was little."

 _Exactly what she needs right now. Good job, Jaune!_ "… I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

Jaune sighed. "No it isn't. We don't know what's going on. We don't know anything. We still don't know why… why Beacon happened. We don't know what's going to happen next. And now, suddenly, we're hurting our friends, and we don't know why it happened. There's so much going on, and we don't know a thing about it."

"Well… yeah. You're right. We don't know much right now. But," Ruby put he hand on Jaune's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "That doesn't mean there aren't answers out there. We can figure this out. We just have to keep going."

"What if we never find anything? What if there are no answers?"

"Would 'We'll never know unless we try' sound too cliché?"

"Yeah, it kind of would."

"Well, it's the best I've got."

Jaune put his hand on Ruby's and gave her a small smile. It was still her, no doubt about it.

"Are you up for searching one more house?" She asked.

They set about looking through what was left of the house. Jaune refused to go back into the basement. They chose to look upstairs instead, hoping to find something there. Jaune opened the door to a room facing the street, and began dry heaving for the second time that day.

There were two more bodies in the room. One was a man, young and simply dressed. He was lying face-down on the ground. The trail of dried blood stretching out behind him indicated that he was trying to drag himself out of the room when he bled out. The wounds on his back- and most likely his front- were sharp and deep. The other man was old enough that his hair had begun to grey. His body was scarred and leanly muscled. He was nude, save for the curtain he was tangled up in. The injury that had killed him was among the most bizarre Jaune had ever seen. His stomach had burst open, spilling out a mass of half-digested meat far in excess of what a human body could hold.

"…Oh God…" Was all Ruby could get out.

"…Wha… what is all this? What happened?" The two of them stared at the bizarre scene, trying to make sense of it. "The people in the basement… It looked like they got together for a feast, and something attacked them. But this," Jaune said, gesturing at the unclothed corpse, "How the hell does something like that happen?" Jaune was drawn away from his pondering when he noticed that Ruby was sniffing the air.

"What are you doing?"

"It smells… familiar. Like I've been here before. It's like… more distorted memories."

Ruby having memories of a room she'd never been in? How? "So, what do you remember?"

"It's different from last night. Everything's still really jumbled, but the hunger doesn't have the same edge. I was... attacking something, I think? I got a taste of something. It tasted good at the time."

Jaune knelt to examine the body. The wounds were small in diameter, but went deep. They were arranged in a familiar pattern. Just like Ren's leg. "Ruby, what else do you remember? What happened next?"

"Something fell on me, and then-" She frowned. "The race?"

"From when we came into town?"

"Yeah. I remember coming into town normally, but I also remember," Ruby gestured to the rest of the room.

Jaune stared at the body in the curtain. The wolf was massive compared to a human. It must have a massive stomach to go with it. When Ruby transformed, it didn't change anything except her body. Hence, her lack of clothing when she changed back. That could apply changing back as well.

"He was a werewolf." Jaune said.

"You're going to have to explain that."

"Okay, I think the night before last the people of the village got together for a feast. This guy here turned into a wolf. He killed them all, and then he started eating them. The next morning, this wolf comes into this room and attacks this guy here." Jaune pointed to the corpse by the door. "He killed him, or at least injured him, but he knocked the curtain loose. When the sunlight hit him, he changed back, but because he had too much in his stomach…" Jaune couldn't bring himself to finish. For one brief second, he saw the image of Ruby, torn open and completely still.

"And now he's… what? Possessing me?"

"How else could you have his memories?"

Silence settled over the room. It finally occurred to Jaune how tired he was feeling. He had had a not-entirely-full night's sleep, but everything since he had woken up had been thoroughly exhausting. Ruby simply stood there shaking, her fists balled up. Ruby finally broke the silence by making her way over to the unclad corpse and slamming her foot into its head.

"Ruby?"

"It's his fault." Ruby's voice was breaking again. "He made me…" She trailed off.

"Are you okay?"

"No." Jaune put his hand on Ruby's shoulder. It seemed like the reassurance she needed. _But it doesn't feel like enough, does it?_

"Let's go, Ruby we don't have to stay here anymore. Let's leave this whole village behind. It's a month until the next full moon. We'll… be ready then."

 **SCENE**

"So, did you know Aura doesn't protect against the cold?" Jaune asked.

"Nope." Ruby said, snuggling up against Jaune's back. She was remarkably heavy despite her small size, but it wouldn't be right to have her walk through the snow barefoot. The sun was shining, and it would be a lovely day if their fight hadn't upset so much of the snow. Jaune could even hear some birds chirping.

"Hey, Nora!" Jaune called up at the inn. "I've got Ruby. Are you guys ready to go?"

Nora appeared at the edge of the roof a second later. "Hey guys! You feeling better, Ruby?"

"Yeah. Is Ren alright?"

"I'm fine." Came Ren's voice.

"We're leaving. Grab your stuff and… whatever you want. Nobody's coming back here."

Nora didn't show much reaction. She seemed to be looking at Jaune and Ruby.

"What's up?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, I just noticed something."

"And what's that?"

"You two look pretty cute together."

"Noraaaaaa." Jaune whined.

"Also, you've got a bird on your head."

"It looks like a crow." Ruby noted.

Jaune did not have time to respond, as the bird had apparently developed an interest in pecking Jaune's face.

 **Author's Note: If you've been wondering about the title of the story, it's German for "First Story about the Full Moon". So, yes, there's going to be a second story. It's going to be longer, focused on the emotional fallout from this story, and set about a month later. Expect it soon-ish.**


End file.
